Girdle



May 13, 1952 Filed Aug. 30, 1944 J. 1.. KLEINMAN 2,596,155

GIRDLE 2 Sl-lEETSSl-IEET l M y 3, 1952 J. L. KLEINMAN 2,596,155

GIRDLE Filed Aug. 50, 1944 2 Sl-lEETS-Sl-IEET 2 INVEN TOR.

Patented May 13, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to garment construction and more particularly to a type of a garment wherein the size of the width of such garment may be changed and adjusted to suit particular requirements at certain occasions without resorting to the distortion of the shape of the garment or to undoing of seams or to sewing.

My novel garment construction is capable of being utilized in connection with various styles or types of garments, but particularly with the type, for example, forming body supporters, corsets, ladies girdles, foundation garments, undergarments, or any combination of the aforementioned garments. r

In accordancewith my invention, I produce a garment provided with a plurality of rows of slidable fastening elements, manipulated in such a manner, whereby the size of the width of the garment, or part thereof, may be adjusted by the moving of the fastening-element lock in one direction. or another or, if desired, such garment may comprise a plurality of sections provided at their side portions with fastening elements arranged in a manner whereby the size of the width of such garment may be adjusted by adding or removing one or more of such sections.

There is, therefore, thus produced, in accordance with my invention, a garment, capable of adjustability without the necessity of sewing, a matter which is a diflicult task to most of the people not trained in the sewing profession, it will be seen that such features provide comfort not heretofore obtained.

To illustrate the ordinary commercial utility of my novel garment in daily life, a garment constructed in accordance with my invention, of what ever style or type it may be made, could be utilized to great advantage, the fact that this garment could be adjusted to fit the size or requirements of the wearer at various occasions, without distortion, would render great comfort and satisfaction to such wearer to an extent whereby such garment would become an indispensable wardrobe item, and thus quite valuable to the trade commercially.

Particularly would such be the case with girdles if made in accordance with my invention. It is a known fact that girdles are usually -made to fit tightly around the wearers body,

and the wearer can not release such snug fitness of the girdle without distortion. It often happens, upon certain occasions, for example, when relaxation is desired, or. during mealtime 2 or thereafter, that such snug fitness of the girdle around the body becomes uncomfortable. The only thing the wearer .can do in such a case is to unhook or to open-the girdle. To do so would cause the girdle to bulge out thereby distorting the. wearers appearance, and cause her embarrassment, particularly when in the presence of others, a woman therefore has no alternative and must continue in such discomfort while wearing the girdle. But if such girdle would be made in accordance with my invention, all the wearer would have to do would be to reach for the zipper-lock onthe girdle and move same downwardly, thereby opening the zippers and adding to the size of the width. of the girdle, thus providing the desired relief and comfort to the wearer without any distortion and embarrassment, as the moving of the zipperlock could be accomplished quickly and unnoticeably. On the other hand; if desired, a swift movement of the zipper-lock upwardly will close the zippers, thereby reducing the size of the width of the girdle and pull-in the abdominal portion of the body, thereby adding additional slenderness to the wearers figure.

hibiting the greatest difficultieshas been selected. Such a garment is one which necessarily must conform most rigidly to the body contours and one which has the field of greatest" possible commercial use. For this purpose I have selected for illustration of my novel construction, a garment constituted of a girdle body, so that the principles of construction may be best illustrated in a garment known as a girdle.

The objects of the present invention are attained by a novel construction which will be hereinafter described and illustrated in the specific embodiment ;of my invention is illustrated, Fig. 1 is afront view of a girdle in the construction of which my invention has been -embodied; showing the auxiliary member, the

slidable fastening means wherein the two rows of fasteners are partly separated from each other having an element located between them and also. showing the two rows of fasteners in an interlocked and closed position.

Fig. 2 shows a portion of the auxiliary member when removed from the main body of the garment, also showing the interlocking means attached to the'side portions thereof.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the interlocking elements of the girdle body being interlocked with each other and fully closed-after the removal of the auxiliary member.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing the position of the center portion of the fastening elements on: the garmentand one of the methods of securing same to the body of the garment.

Fig. 5 is a view of a girdle garment showing the manner in which sets of slidable-fastening means may be secured along the full lengthof the garment, and in open or-separated position.

Fig. 6 is a view. of the same girdle garment as in Fig. 5 showing each set'of the fastening elements in interlocked or closed position.

Fig. '7 is a view of a girdle garment showing the open sets of the fastening elements being shorter in size than the length of the girdle.

Fig. 8' is a view of the same girdle as that of Fig. '7 showing the fastening'elements in closed position, affecting only the abdominal. portion of the wearers body.

Fig. 9 is a View showing a fullyclosed girdle body having auxiliary members secured to the side portions thereof;

Fig. is a view of thesame'girdleas inzFig. 9

showing the auxiliary members having been removed and the body portions'interlocked with each other and fully closed, thus reducing the size of the. width of the girdle body. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in which similar reference characters identify similar parts in the several views, in my novel adjustable panty-girdle garment.

Numeral 5'represents the body of a garment unit. In the particular instance; the body portion of a panty-girdle. Such body portion 5 is provided with side end. portions 1 and 8 to which are secured fastening elements! and I0, such fastening elements are adapted, to interlock with each other thus closing. 'the body 5 (see Figs. 3 andlO). But,.if'it is desired to enlarge the size of the width of the girdle, then, the fastening elements 9 and ID are unhooked from each other and the auxiliary member 6 (Fig. 2), which is provided: at each. of its side end portions with fastening elements ll andlZ may be used. Naturally, the hook II will fit into the lock I5 of the fastening element 9 and the hook ID of the fastening element ID will fit into the lock l5 of the member 6, and by moving the locks l5 and i5 upwardly the fastening elements 9 and H, and also Ill and [2, will interlock with each other thereby closing the body of girdle 5 (Figs. 1 and 9) and increasing the size of the widthof same. Of course, several auxiliary-members may be used'instead of one, for example, as shown in Fig. 9, where. two

auxiliary members 6 are'used. Such auxiliary.

members 6, or the body 5',- may, in partor in whole, be made of any suitable'material, for

example, elastic, silk, plastics, tape or whatever.

material maybe found suitable for the purpose.

Ofcourse, the typeof materia-lto be used, or

the shape, style or size of the garment would, naturally, be optional with the manufacturer.

If it is desired to eliminate, or remove, the auxiliary members 6, then the locks l5 and [5' are moved downwardly to the bases l2, the hooks l0 and H are then removed from the locks I5 and I5, thereby detaching the auxiliary member 6 from the body 5, the hook I0 is then inserted into the lock 15 and by moving such lock l5 upwardly the fastening elements 1' and 8 will interlock with each other, thereby closing the body 5, and reducing the size of the width of same (see Fig. 10). Of course, the auxiliary members 5, or the side end portions 1 or 8, may be provided with under-flaps M which would'act as guards for various purposes.

From the above it will be seen, that by either adding or removing portions of the body 5, such, for'example, as auxiliary members 6, a woman may be able to adjust her garment to suit the size of her figure, without resorting to sewing and distortion of the shape of such a garment. A 'merchant, through such medium of size adjustment, would eliminate the necessity of carry- -ing,,a large stock of girdles on hand, thereby saving lots of spacethat may be utilized for various purposes. It is therefore believed that this invention would prove valuable to both the merchant and the consumer.

In addition to the above, it may also be said that women because of their desire to attain as slender a figure-as possible, usually have their girdles fit snugly to thebody. But occasionally a womans girdle may stretch a bit, such a. thing would of course annoy her greatly as it may distort her slender appearance, and that may causeher to discard her girdle, although same may be in a-perfectly good wearable condition. If only she could take-in that extra fullness of her stretched girdle, then it would solve her problem, but in such a case it would mean that she would have to resort to alterations, sewing of seams, and not many women are trained to do alterations on garments, particularly where careful sewing and fitting is required in order not to distort the shape of the garment. In such a case, a woman has no other alternative than that of either going to the extra expense of having her girdle altered and readjusted by a tradesman, or to purchase anew girdle.

Applicants: present invention solves such a difiicult problem completely and in a very simple and uniquemanner, by merely moving the zipper-lock in one direction, for example, upwardly, such extra fullness of the stretched girdlewould then be taken-in swiftly and quite easily andwithout resorting to the sewing of seams, thereby eliminating irritation, annoyance: and saving. unnecessary expense to the wearer. Furthermore, should it be desired to bring the girdle body back to its original size, it can easily be done so by simply moving the zipper-lock 26 to the opposite direction, for example, downwardly, thus the size of the garment canbe adjusted. or changed very easily and quickly to smaller or larger sizeinz width portions- ]1 and I8 are. secured to body" Eby suitable means, for example, stitchings 2i and 22 (Figs. 1 and 4). These base portions I! and I 8 meet at their end portions as at 23 and 24 and are each provided with a row of fastening elements I 9 and 20, preferably of a slidable type, for example, zippers, which are at such end sections united with each other by suitable closing elements, for example, as shown at25 and 3!, thereby limiting the movements of the lock 26.

When the girdle is positioned upon the wearers body, the rows of fastening elements l9 and 2|] are normally in partly spaced relations with respect to each other, but upon moving the lock 26 upwardly towards section 24, the fastening elements l9 and will interlock with each other (see arrows 30 Figs. 1 and 6), thereby folding the material or element 32 (fold not shown) and take-in the stretched fullness of the body 5 and pull girdle together as at 5" (Fig. 6), thus giving the wearers body a slenderer appearance. On the other hand, if desired, the lock may be moved downwardly towards the end section 23, and the fastening elements l9 and 20 will become unlocked and separated from each other thereby releasing the fold of the material or element 32 and expanding the. size of the width of the girdle (Figs. 1 and 5), thus the wearer may obtain the desired relief and comfort. The lock 26 will be stopped by element 25 when reaching section 24 and by element 3| when reaching section 23 thus preventing dislocation of said lock 26.

It will be seen that by the interlocking of elements I9 and 20 with each other a loose top end portion 34 is provided thereby eliminating edge-cutting to the wearers body. The same is true with the spaces 33 between the body 5 and auxiliary members 6.

The set of fastening means comprising the base portions I1 and 18 may be made of any suitable length, shape or style, and besecured to the body 5 at any desirable place or in any suitable style or manner. The fastening elements I9 and 20 may be spaced apart from each other at any desirable space, style or form, at any desirable angular shape with respect to each other as may be found necessary by the designer or manufacturer while designing the garment to be made in accordance with this invention, or as may be desired by the consumer. The disclosures herein are for illustrative purposes only and not for limitation purposes.

If desired, the bases I! and I8 may be made of i a size corresponding to the full length or height of the body '5, for example, in a manner as shown in Fig. 1, arrow and in Figs. 5' and 6. But if desired, such set of fastening elements may be made shorter in length and be positioned on the body 5 in a manner, for example, as shown at arrow [6 (Fig. 1). Or, if desired, in a position as shown in Figs. '7 and 8, in which case only the abdominal portion of the body would be affected by the structure of this invention. As a matter of fact, such a structure, particularly as suggested or shown. in the Figs. 7 and 8, is a very important part or feature of the present invention. Because, when a woman has a girdle on, for dress wear, and can then, without distortion pull-it-in a little more at the abdominal portion of her body, she would be very pleased, because it would give her figure a straighter line and add more slenderness to 6 her appearance, features which almost every woman is desirous to obtain.

On the other hand, if a woman at certain occasions, particularly after meals, should find it necessary to seek relief for the abdominal portion of her body, all she would have to do would be to move the lock 26 downwardly towards the lower end section 23 of the girdle body 5, thus unlocking the fastening elements [9 and 20 from each other, thereby releasing the fold of the material or element 32 and increasing the size of the width of the girdle and obtaining the soughtfor relief.

The same may apply to the set of the full length fastening elements (Fig. 6). A woman may wish to relax a. bit, but the tightness of her girdle may be in her way to obtain such desired relaxation. She would therefore be obliged to open her girdle. However, by doing so, she would cause her girdle to get out of position resulting in discomfort and annoyance, and in the trouble of readjusting same. But with applicants present invention, all the woman would have to do would be to move the locks 26 downwardly towards sections 3|, thereby unlocking the fastening elements l9 and 20 from each other, and in that way releasing the fold of the material or element 32 and adding such material-space or element 32 (see Fig. 5) to the size of the width of the body 5, thus obtaining the sought-for relief and comfort for relaxation purposes without distorting her girdle. Afterwards, if desired, the lock 26 may be moved upwardly again towards the upper end section 24 of the girdle body 5, thereby interlocking the fastening elements I 9 and 20 with each other, folding the material or element 32 and reducing the size of the width of the girdle and in such a way restoring the desired line of shape to the wearers figure.

It is understood that if desired, one of the side end portions, either I or 8, may be provided with a single row of fastening elements 9 on), and the opposite side portion may be provided with several rows of such fastening-elements, each of them adapted to interfit with the said single row of elements, thus controlling the adjustment of the size of the width of the girdle body 5.

From the above it is evident that applicants invention, namely, the adjustment of the size of the girdle body with respect to the size of its width, either by means of adding or removing the auxiliary members, or by means of forming a fold of certain parts of the material by interlocking two rows of fasteners which are angularly disposed with respect to each other when secured to the girdle body, solves a very important problem in this particular branch of business of the ladies wear industry. These are desirable features which are believed to be beneficial to the user and therefore of commercial value to the manufacturer and consumer.

From the above it will be seen that I have invented and perfected a garment of a new and unique design, a garment which is practical, useful and therefore of commercial value, and, although I have shown certain preferred forms or illustrations in order to explain and describe the novelty of my invention, yet, by showing such structures, I do not, by any means, limit myself to these structures, nor to the terms used in describing same, as they are for illustrative purposes only. Various suggestions and changes of structure or terms may be resorted to, and I desire it to be understood that I have same in mind when showing and describing this: invention, and seek protection by Letters Patent. And, although I have mentioned in describing this invention of what material certain parts may be made, how they may be formed, shaped or styled and how they may be assembled, yet I desire it to be understood that this structure, or parts thereof, may be made of any suitable material, and shaped, formed, styled or arranged in any desirable manner, and assembled in any convenient way so that the parts may be easily taken apart, removed, cleaned, replaced and reassembled, and that various changes in detail may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of v this invention.

I claim:

1. A garment comprising a body portion and a completely separable auxiliary member, each of the side end portions of said body provided with a row of slidable fastening elements, one of said fastening elements provided with a guiding lock and the other of said fastening elements provided with a guiding hook adapted to interfit within the said guiding lock thereby placing said slidable fastening elements in desired position to be interlocked with each other in a manner closing completely the body portion of said garment, said fastening elements adapted to be unlocked and separated from each other, each of the side end portions of said auxiliary member provided with a row of slidable fastening means, one of said fastening means provided with a guiding lock adaptedto receive the guiding hook of said fastening element thereby placing said fastening. means and the said fastening element in position to be interlocked with each other, the other of said fastening means provided with a guiding hook adapted to interfit within the guiding lock of said fastening elements thereby placing said fastening means and fastening elements in desired position to be interlocked with each other, thus closing completely the body portion of the garment in a manner increasing the size of the width of said garment, said body portion provided with an elongated slot disposed parallel with respect to the said auxiliary member, said slot being closed by slide fasteners for adjusting the elasticity of the girdle.

2. A garment comprising a body portion and a completely separable auxiliary member, each of the side end portions of said body portion provided with a row of slidable fastening elements, each of the side end portions of the auxiliary member provided with a row of slidable fastening means, one of the said fastening elements provided with a guiding hook adapted to interfit Within a guiding lock carried byone of the said fastening means, and the other of said fastening elements provided with a guiding lock adapted to receive a guiding hook carried by the other of said fastening means in a manner whereby said fastening means may be interlocked with the said fastening elements thereby closing the said body portion, said hooks adapted to be removed from the said locks in a manner unlocking the said fastening means from the said fastening elements thereby removing the said auxiliary member from the saidbody portion, the hook of one of said fastening elements adapted to interfit within the lock carried by the other of said fastening elements in a manner interlocking the said fastening elements with each other thereby closing the said body portion-and reducing the size of the width of such garment.

3. Agarment girdle comprising a bodyportion shaped in a manner. adaptedtofit the wearers means of the auxiliary members thus closing the said body, said fastening elements and said fastening means adapted to be unlocked and separated from each other in a manner removing the said auxiliary members from the said body portion, the said fastening elements adapted to be interlocked with each other in a manner closing the said body portion and reducing the size of the Width of said body without d'istorting'the shape of said girdle body.

4. A girdle comprising a body portion shaped in a manner adapted to fit the wearers figure, said body portion comprising completely removable auxiliary members, the side portions of the said body portion provided with rows of fastenin elements, the side portions of said auxiliary members provided with rows of fastening'means'the said fastening elements adapted to be interlocked with the said fastening means in a mann'erclosing completely the said body portion without distorting the shape of such body portion, cushioning means underlying the said fastening means and the said fastening elements, said fastening elements adapted to be unlocked from the said fastening means thereby removing the said auxiliary members from the said body portion, the said fastening elements and the said fastening means being of the same size in length, thus said fastening elements are adapted to be interlocked with each other in a manner closing completely the said body portion without distorting the shape of such body portion.

5. A garment comprising a body portion, at least the upper part of said body portion adapted to fit the wearers figure, said body portion provided with completely removable auxiliary members, the side portions of the said body portion provided with rows of fastening elements, the side portions of the said auxiliary members provided with rows of fastening means, the said fastening elements adapted to be interlocked with the said fastening means in a manner closing completely the said body portion without distorting the shape of such body portion, cushioning means underlying the said fastening means and the said fastening elements, said fastening elements adapted to be unlocked from the said fastening means thereby removing the said auxiliary members from the said body portion, the said fastening elements being adapted to be interlocked with each other in a manner closing completely the said body portion without distorting the shape of such body portion, said body portion provided With a slit, said slit provided with side portions, said side'portions provided with fastening means, an element bridging said slit, said element. having its side end portions secured to the side portions of said slit, the fastening means of the side portions of the said slit each other thereby releasing the fold of the said Number element and thus increasing in size the width of 1,883,587 the said particular portion of the garment body. 1,996,626 JACOB L. KLEINMAN. 2,070,515 5 2,143,815 REFERENCES CITED 2,154,253 The following references are of record in the ,227 file of this patent: 2,302,343 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2379'815 to 2,396,599 Number Name Date 605,108 Lindsay June 7, 1898 664,675 Pichl Dec. 25, 1900 Number 1,550,910 McNally Aug. 25, 1925 25,171 1,753,657 Kaplan Apr. 8, 1930 15 820,346 1,829,160 Siegel Oct. 27, 1931 Name Date Craig Oct. 18, 1932 Robinson Apr. 2, 1935 Miller, Jr. et a1. Feb. 9, 1937 Fridolph Jan. 10, 1939 Spain Apr. 11, 1939 Kopyto Aug. 4, 1942 Dorian Nov. 24, 1942 McFarlane July 3. 1943 O'Brien Mar-.12, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country pate Austria Aug. 10, 1906 France Nov. 9, 1937 

